Comets assistant takes reins for Nigeria

Comets assistant takes reins for Nigeria

MICHAEL MURPHY, Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle |
September 12, 2006

Nigeria coach Kevin Cook predicts the nation will stand one day among the powers in women's basketball.

When asked to coach the Nigerian women's national basketball team, Kevin Cook jumped at the opportunity.

Cook, whose day job is serving as Van Chancellor's top assistant with the Comets, was excited about the challenge of getting the embryonic Nigerian women's program up and running.

But Cook might have been tempted to run away after he saw his team's draw in the 2006 FIBA World Championships for Women, which begin today in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

The Nigerian team begins today's pool play with Russia, which enters the championships ranked No. 2 in the world by FIBA, the governing body for international basketball. On Wednesday, the Nigerians play the United States, which is led by the Comets' Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson and is ranked No. 1 in the world. Nigeria then wraps up pool play with a game against China, ranked No. 9.

"The odds are stacked against us, but we're going to play as hard as we can and as smart as we can," Cook said. "What I've been preaching to my players is that it takes such a high intensity level to play successfully, possession in and possession out. Just learning what it takes to play hard, play together and execute is something they need to find out.

"Upsets do happen. We don't need to bring our A game. We'll need to bring our double-A, triple-A or quadruple-A game to get a win. But we're going to go over, do our best and let the chips fall where they may. But we understand that we're still growing and that there are players out there who can help us."

Cook, who was asked to coach the Nigerian national team after giving a series of clinics and camps in South Africa, would love to make a splash in this year's World Championships.

But he also is laying the foundation for the future, which he hopes will include players such as Nneka Ogwumike, a junior at Cy-Fair High School, and a college freshman at Oklahoma named Abi Olajuwon, daughter of NBA Hall of Famer and native Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon.

Cook has created an alliance with Olajuwon, who led the Houston Cougars to three Final Fours and won two NBA titles with the Rockets.

"Dream (Olajuwon) took the women's team out to dinner and out to lunch, and he attended a full practice," Cook said. "It's his desire to get very, very involved in both the women's and the men's national teams. The idea is to have a home base in Lagos (Nigeria) and a training center here in Houston."

Cook's team is led by former Comet Mfon Udoka, a 6-0 forward who played college ball at DePaul; Olayinka Sanni, a 6-3 junior at West Virginia; and point guard Itoro Umoh-Coleman, a former WNBA player who is an assistant coach at Clemson.

His players aren't well-known, but Cook looks forward to the day when Nigeria is able to stand its ground with other international powers.

"Nigeria is in its infancy," he said. "You look at United States basketball and the Russian Basketball Federation — those are established powers. And Australia has done a fine job with its feeder program.

"But we (Nigerians) don't have any junior programs in place. That infrastructure is being laid and worked on every day, but it's going to take some time. That's the biggest challenge for us.

"I'm pumped. I tell this group, and I'm being honest, that this is the most fun I've ever had in coaching."